Early tee time as golf courses open

Renae Kiesow of Brillion watches her cousin, Trevor Krizenesky, tee off as golfers take advantage of the warm weather at Sherwood Forest Golf Club on Saturday in Sherwood.(Photo: Ron Page/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

While the first official day of spring may be a week away, it's been warm — and dry — enough in March for a handful of Fox Valley golf courses to open a few weeks earlier than usual.

Confidence in an early spring led Sherwood Forest Golf Club to open on Tuesday and Neenah's Westridge Golf Club on Wednesday. Countryside in Kaukauna opened on Friday and Winagamie Golf Course's Highlands Course in Neenah followed suit Saturday morning. Eagle Links in Kaukauna is prepping this weekend for a Monday opening.

Chad LaFever, Westridge's golf director, said the course saw more than 100 golfers in its first three days.

"We didn't have too bad of a winter, so the course is actually in really nice shape," he said. "We just wanted to get people out there as soon as possible."

He was expecting at least 120 golfers to hit the links on Saturday as temperatures climbed into the low 60s.

"It's a very walkable course," LaFever said. "There's not a lot of distance between holes. The people that know about us understand it's not a terrible walk out there for 18 or even nine holes."

Countryside's early opening was credited to the mildness of the winter.

"The warm weather and the lack of snow allowed us to get open," said Derek Bornemann, a clubhouse manager with the course. "We had a couple of nice days in there that got rid of the wetness."

To prepare for an early opening, Bornemann said it's simple — let Mother Nature take its course.

"Once you put the flags in, you're almost ready go," Bornemann said. "Just plop the flags in, and you're good to go that way."

Despite some soggy conditions, Sherwood Forest beat everyone to the punch with the Tuesday opening.

"People are out here, they're enjoying it and having a great time," said Candice Nelson, a co-owner of the nine-hole course in Sherwood. "It's March golf, and we don't get that quite often here in Wisconsin."

Like Countryside, Nelson said it didn't take too much to ready her course.

"We made sure greens were cleared and blown off," she said. "We just followed the weather."

The forecast for the upcoming week, however, isn't particularly promising — chances of rain and highs in the lower 40s will return by the end of the week. Tee it up while you can.